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. 2023 Nov 13;18(11):e0287669.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287669. eCollection 2023.

Work conflict: Another trigger to smartphone addiction of individuals with high rumination?

Yanwei Sun  1 , Xing Cai  2 , Ting Nie  3
Affiliations

Work conflict: Another trigger to smartphone addiction of individuals with high rumination?

Yanwei Sun et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

With the widespread use of smartphones, many people spend much time on smartphones for shopping, learning, socializing, and so on, which can affect an individual's mental health and work performance. Especially, individual perceived conflict at work may increase their social anxiety and thus raise the risk of their smartphone addiction. This study collected data from 577 corporate employees in China through convenience sampling to explain the influence mechanism of work conflict on smartphone addiction and to verify the moderating role of rumination. Statistical results show that relationship conflicts, task conflicts, and process conflicts positively affect smartphone addiction by enhancing social anxiety. Moreover, rumination positively moderates the relationship between work conflict and smartphone addiction. People with high rumination are more likely to escape reality due to conflict at work, which further enhances their smartphone addiction behaviors. Our study suggests that a relatively harmonious working atmosphere should be established within organizations, especially for employees with rumination. Work conflict is a predisposing factor for social anxiety and smartphone addiction in individuals with high rumination.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Theoretical model.
Notes: RC: Relationship Conflict; TC: Task Conflict; PC: Process Conflict; SA: Social Anxiety; SPA: Smartphone Addiction; RT: Rumination.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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